Former Talihina coach gets honored by court being named in his honor

December 22, 2011

Talihina Superintendent Jason Lockhart, center, reads the inscription on the award he presents to former Talihina Basketball Coach Chris Gillespie, left, during the dedication ceremony for Gillespie as the court at Ray Henson Gymnasium was named in his honor in between Tuesday night's games. Former Talihina Superintendent Ray Henson, right, also took part in the dedication, and was the individual who hired Gillespie in 1971 when he became superintendent.
PDN Staff Photo by David Seeley

TALIHINA â€” When one looks at all the Talihina High School basketball success, both boys and girls, one name is pretty much cemented there â€” Chris Gillespie.
Last season, his final at the coach of the Golden Tigers, Gillespie guided them to the Class 2A state title in the fourth of four straight trips to state â€” after a quarterfinal finish and two state runner-up finishes in the previous three trips. He also had success with the Lady Golden Tigers program.
After last season, Gillespie decided to â€śsemi-retireâ€ť â€” which has meant being girls coach at Colbert High School, which ironically is where he began his coaching career.
Tuesday night at Ray Henson Gymnasium, Talihina Public Schools wanted to make sure Gillespie will always be around in some way. The court was dedicated and named â€śChris Gillespie Courtâ€ť in between the Broken Bow-Talihina games.
â€śI'm really appreciative of this award,â€ť Gillespie said. â€śIt means a lot to me. It's not every day that you get hired by the same person (Henson) twice. I want to thank everybody. I think this is more about all the players I've had play for me than anything. I'll always be a Talihina Golden Tiger at heart.â€ť